Blog Archives

In December of 2016 we announced that a Mint Julep Jazz Band song would be a part of a compilation album called That New Old Sound, organized by our friend and bandleader Glenn Crytzer, where 100% of the proceeds would go to the American Civil Liberties Union. As of this July 4, 2017, the album has raised over $6,000 for the ACLU! If you haven’t already, pick up a copy of this great album, with 17 tracks from musicians all over the United States playing traditional jazz and swing music, and celebrate your right to listen and our right to perform this wonderful music.

When the North Carolina Museum of Art reached out to us about performing at their Art Deco car exhibit, the response was a resounding yes – 30’s and 40’s machines of beauty plus music from the same era? Yes, please!

We’ll be opening the Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s exhibit with a soiree on September 29 featuring food, cocktails, and hot jazz amongst the rolling sculptures featured in the exhibit. Band plays from 6:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This is the first of many cool events surrounding this exhibit, check out the NCMA Rolling Sculpture exhibit webpage to see what’s in store in the coming months!

We are honored to be asked by Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation to be a part of the Bearden Music Series again this year, after having a fantastic turnout at last year’s outdoor concert. We’ll be performing a free concert on July 9, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Bearden Park, a lovely outdoor space admidst the tall buildings of uptown Charlotte.

Bring a lawn chair or blanket and some summer eats (or pick up dinner from one of the food trucks) and relax under the sunset and stars during the concert, or take advantage of the dance floor and a free swing dance lesson by Gottaswing Charlotte on the first band break.

Durhamites, be sure to pick up a copy of the April, 2016 issue of Durham Magazine for a feature on the Mint Julep Jazz Band! Durham Magazine writer Sophia Lucente interviewed Laura Windley, Lucian Cobb, and Keenan McKenzie to put together this snapshot of the band’s history and life in Durham. You can read the article (as well as the entire issue) online here or read just the article in an online-friendly format here.

If you love traditional jazz and swing, I would recommend following Michael’s blog – it is comprehensive, updated regularly, and features wonderful artists, both new and old. Michael’s dedication to the research, review, and enjoyment of this music and the artists definitely shows in his writing.

Backers (people who pre-ordered the album and opted for other delightful swag, in order of contribution; also, if we have somehow missed or misspelled your name, please email us at mintjulepjazzband@gmail.com and we will make it right!):

After launching a week ago, we are excited to report that the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s Kickstarter for our new album “Battle Axe” is already 38% funded! Here are some other update tidbits about our first week of this Kickstarter:

– As of 1/18/15, we have a total of 157 backers!

– We have backers from Canada, Australia, UK, Israel, Switzerland, and Brazil, as well as backers from all over the US.

– The aprons made by Gayle Windley (vocalist Laura’s mom) and the fascinator donated by ChatterBlossom were sold within the first 12 hours after the Kickstarter launched.

– We have added a reward in the first week, two passes to The Process, a weekend of Lindy Hop workshops and dances in Richmond, VA (July 17-19, 2015) focusing on the “process guiding Lindy Hoppers to rapid improvement,” featuring six sets of national and internationally known lindy hop instructors, and the Mint Julep Jazz Band is performing at the Friday night dance – thanks so much to the Jazz Dance Education Council for donating two passes!

– We are going to add a new reward this week, another lovely fascinator donated by ChatterBlossom – stay tuned!

We have been working diligently to get everything in place to launch a Kickstarter for our second album on January 11, 2015 – we’ll be having our Kickstarter launch party at Common 414 in Raleigh, with the full 8 piece Mint Julep Jazz Band playing from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Come join us to celebrate!

The title of the album, “Battle Axe,” is taken from a great Jimmie Lunceford tune in our book, and we anticipate that this will be a really fun album to put together, based on that title. Alexandrea Thomsen of Dtownperspective is putting together an awesome Kickstarter video for us and we have lots of new and interesting rewards in the works, as well as bringing back some old favorites (cupcakes, anyone?). Looking forward to January 11!

We are excited to announce that we will be working with Common 414, a new 1920’s themed cocktail bar that has opened in Raleigh, NC – three upcoming events of note!

1) Friday, November 14, 2014, the Mint Julep Quintet will play from 8-11p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting and playing live music for a Charleston contest! Come show off your gams and your hot jazz moves – the winner of the Charleston contest gets a Mint Julep Jazz Band prize pack (CD, shoe bag, button) and a VIP Booth Package for Common 414 (a $250 value).

2) and 3) On two Sundays in January (11th and 25th), 2015 we begin what we hope will be a regular gig for the Mint Julep Jazz Band, so you can hear all this great music from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s performed by our little big band twice a month! We say we hope because continuation of this event depends on you voting to keep MJJB here with your feet and your wonderful presence. Band plays from 7-10 p.m., $5 cover because there are a lot of people in the band!

Thanks so much to Common 414 for giving us this opportunity, it’s rare to see bands this large with regular gigs and we’ll do our best to keep this one – swing out, Raleigh!